


into the void

by samatokki



Series: into the void files [1]
Category: VIXX
Genre: Dystopian Fiction, Inspectors - Freeform, M/M, enforcers - Freeform, everyone is still undeniably themselves, hongbin is the biggest tease, kenvi actually trying to keep it low, sanghyuk just wants to breathe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-07
Updated: 2017-06-09
Packaged: 2018-11-07 15:43:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11062062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/samatokki/pseuds/samatokki
Summary: taekwoon is the unpredictable senior inspector of division one.sanghyuk is his genius junior inspector that doesn't fully understand just how damn smart he is.(also known as: division one receives a new enforcer recruit, cha hakyeon, and taekwoon ends up a little invested.wonshik and jaehwan are the fiery enforcer duo trying to keep their relationship under wraps from everyone besides division one while hongbin is the godly looking analyst that many people have their eyes on, including sanghyuk. and together, they work as a team to keep society's hue levelled.)





	1. powder blue

**Author's Note:**

> this is a psycho-pass (anime) au~ it's a really good series  
> so i highly recommend it to those who've not seen it!!
> 
> here's something to help you understand some of the unfamiliar words in the fic  
> \- the [dominator](http://psychopass.wikia.com/wiki/The_Dominator)  
> \- or the concept of [psycho-pass](http://psychopass.wikia.com/wiki/Psycho-Pass_\(Index\)) in general

_taekwoon is running._

_one moment he’s standing his ground, returning punch after punch and the next, his entire equilibrium shifts under his feet when he’s thrown with incredible strength against the hard concrete._

_crunch._

_his vision is hazy that he barely sees the bright cyan light from his dominator turn an angry, fiery red in the corner of his eyes. the gun was far from his reach, hands blindly patting the ground to retrieve it._

_“hyung!” he hears sanghyuk’s voice from a distance, along with the stomping of feet. the perp curses loud enough for taekwoon to hear and runs away._

_“taekwoon hyung!” this time it’s jaehwan that calls for him. and taekwoon almost wants to scold him (‘i’m still your superior when we’re working you idiot’) then laugh it off. but he can’t, because he’s holding onto his shoulder like it was going to fall off, the pain shooting through him till he was left numb._

_he wanted to scream._

_even if he couldn’t feel his arm, that excruciating feeling pulsing through him whenever he lifted a muscle by the slightest bit kept him pinned to the ground. he wanted to curl into a ball, succumb to the pain and wake up without it._

_“just go!” he yells out, using his free arm to point towards the the mouth of the alleyway where the perp ran off._

_“wonshik, stay here with inspector jung. jaehwan, come with me” sanghyuk speaks firmly and the two are immediately off._

_taekwoon thinks wonshik is calling him, raising his voice each time his name rolls off his tongue. but he can’t be too sure. because everything is going dark and he feels the ache on his head elevating._

_the last thing he remembers is a pair of arms holding him up before everything is pitch black._

 

 

 

 

"how are you doing, hyung?" a hologram of his junior inspector, han sanghyuk forms over his wrist shaded in cyan. taekwoon moves his wrist towards himself, letting it hover over his lap than rested on the table. the sight of the younger gave him some relief, by the least. he honestly wished he were back on the field with his head fully immersed in the case. 

"peachy" he decides on a simple answer.

his response earns a small fit of laughter from the younger inspector. 

it’s been a week since taekwoon woke up in a ward. his injury wasn’t life threatening, the pain in his arm due to a bone dislocation. unsurprising because god, he could’ve sworn the perp who’d thrown him had taken something to amplify his strength for the way he was manhandled that day was completely out of this world.

the rest of division one had paid him several visits and taekwoon had nearly pulled wonshik into a head lock for not getting him his coffee as requested. the audacity! a day after, chief eunkwang had called for sanghyuk and soon division one was working on yet another case. a case that taekwoon had to stubbornly sit out of.

"well you shouldn't have escaped from the ward" han sanghyuk's tone matching that of when a parent tells their stubborn child, 'i told you so’.

“because of you hongbin hyung had to make up some lame excuse to cover up the fact that he totally did not see you get up from bed and run off through the cameras from the lab”

"you've been under me for about a year now sanghyuk-ah, you know i'm not one to lie around." taekwoon retorts before shifting his gaze to the now obnoxiously laughing barista, then back to sanghyuk's holo-form. he was undoubtedly cynical about leaving his (as sanghyuk says, 'favorite' but as taekwoon would counter, 'only') junior inspector unsupervised, which is why he had informed said inspector to always call in on the situation of their current case. he would have been furious if he hadn't received one, but in the end it wouldn't have exactly piqued him as much as he'd think it would knowing that sanghyuk was brilliant (and completely capable of running and closing a case on his own. with the help of jaehwan and wonshik, of course.).

taekwoon is reminded of his latte and his shoulder, now seated in discontent from sanghyuk's untimely call. despite his desire to be working, he really wished he wouldn't have to be disturbed at the time where him resting is actually mandatory. 

where it’s night and the cafe is quiet. plus he’s just really tired of being coffee deprived.

currently clouded by the urge to sigh, it didn't take long for the young inspector's voice to immediately lull him back to reality. and taekwoon blinks twice with a scrunched brow. 

"chief kept questioning me on why you 'discharged' yourself—“  
“and?” taekwoon raised a brow.  
“i told chief that ‘your restlessness is only going to affect you’ and that ‘it’s vital for an inspector like jung taekwoon to be in his own thoughts than to be lying on a bed waiting for recovery’” 

taekwoon couldn't help a smile from forming on his (slightly foamed) lips.  
"i had taught you well, haven't i?" sanghyuk soon sported a similar smile. 

"there is no other logical answer when it comes to the great jung taekwoon isn't there?"

taekwoon fought himself from rolling his eyes at sanghyuk.

"i'm assuming you must be on your way somewhere to be able to call me for a chit-chat." 

"i am actually, sir. would you like me to fill you in on our current leads?"

taekwoon retrieves his cup of coffee. he takes a hearty sip of his coffee, nodding. 

"enlighten me, inspector han"  

"the confirmed suspect is ahn jungin, aged 34. he gave his 'business' card to a couple of people saying how he offers stimulants in a rather intriguing pitch sense and i quote, 'for an ever lasting, healthy hue to stay powder blue"

taekwoon snorts, both at the disgustingly cheesy, distasteful quotation and at the sudden raise in pitch of sanghyuk's voice. 

"it was a bother to get them to spit it out. we had to make a couple of promises." he continues. "he said he does his business starting around 9pm at that vixx club downtown which is where i'm headed right now."

vixx club, _vixx club_. the name chants in his head. that humongous club with it's equally humongous flashy neon signboard and that awful looking led robot head. how could he forget such a weird place. though as he recalled, the place was constantly bustling with people. it's no wonder why the place is the suspect’s pick in venue to conduct his business, no matter how disturbing it was.

"that club is only 10 minutes away from the cafe i'm at." he clicks his tongue in realization, “ _han sanghyuk_ , is this why you called knowing that i’m here-"

"not at all!" sanghyuk was quick to defend, "it's a mere coincidence i assure you. i'll be alright without you sir, i only ask of you to rest well”

 

 

 

 

the rookie enforcer trudges through groups of people, from holo-cosplayers to drunkards. he for once had found the pros of those mindless hours of lifting weights and repeating routines of stepping onto the weighing scale. clutching his own dominator with one hand to his waist, he nimbly slides himself through more people who surprisingly couldn't care less about the guy running freely with a dominator. 

"stop!" his voice echoes throughout the alleyway. his muscle ached from his abrupt movements all around. 

hakyeon points the end of his dominator towards the man, "i'm with the MWPSB!" the man tries to scurry, only to be met with the walls which had obstruct his path completely. 

 

 

 

 

"i'm with the MWPSB!" 

taekwoon had heard someone bellow, rather shaken than as confident and stern as sanghyuk and his two enforcers would. this person was definitely someone he didn't know. 

he takes several, silent steps towards the alleyway's opening, footsteps padding gently. he retrieves his gun from the back of his pea coat, blowing a puff of air that seemingly sounded like something between a sigh and a scoff. he wasn't on duty.

he wasn't allowed to be on duty.

it's not like he cared anyway. he was responsible for his own actions. not sanghyuk, not jaehwan, not wonshik. and definitely not the CID. 

he sees the back of a slender figure, a tall yet small build. his hair was dark, but of what shade taekwoon didn't bother to figure out. the splatters of lights hitting the strands of his hair still didn't give him the justification he needed. 

"you're under arrest!" the man says. taekwoon was undoubtedly worried about how quick sanghyuk was to give the man a registered dominator, regardless of the consequences he, this time would have to bear. from the looks of it, taekwoon thinks the system was right after all.

"what the..?!" the man rapidly presses the trigger but the dominator doesn’t budge, lights flashing red instead of it’s usual cyan. ‘you are not a registered user’ the AI’s voice rings in his head.

"fuck.." taekwoon inwardly cusses. he holds back a chuckle before tilting his head up, where it leans against the wall. "of course.. sanghyuk you sly thing" he mutters, bemused by his absolute genius of a junior inspector.

of course he hadn't trusted the new enforcer. of course he gave him an unregistered dominator. of course, this was just a test.

the suspect laughs, his laughter shrieking before taekwoon was alarmed by rapid footsteps.

he's getting away.

"STOP!" newbie screams.

taekwoon pushes himself towards the opening, swiftly, hand stretched out and dominator blinking in all it's cyan glory. the familiar noises of the gun in his hand shifting, his eyes gleaming a bright blue. 

_crime coefficient is 301. enforcement mode is lethal eliminator. aim carefully and eliminate the target._

a large ball of blue flashes through the darkness, then there was velvet spilling out from the suspect's body. and he was gone.

 

 

 

 

sanghyuk arrives at the alleyway a second too late, followed by his two enforcers. one, he sees cha hakyeon drop the dominator in his hand. two, he sees a large pool of red and a familiar figure.

“inspector taekwoon?” he blurts, rushing over to the scene.   
“there you are” taekwoon sighs, his dominator shifting back into it’s normal form before he slides it into his coat. of course, he must’ve taken down the suspect. he could hear jaehwan and wonshik console hakyeon behind him. his test for the new recruit had worked, wonshik warning sanghyuk that there was non-permitted use of a dominator nearby in pursuit of the suspect earlier.

he was satisfied.

“must i remind you that it’s against the rules to have your enforcer be left to their devices without an inspector’s supervision during an enforcement?” sanghyuk casts his glance to the ground, guilty, apology at the tip of tongue.

“you’re lucky i was around” taekwoon gives the younger inspector a light smack on his arm.

“i’m sorry hyung”

he shakes his head, “it’s fine”  
“anyways, regarding the case..”

“you said the suspect took stimulants too, am i right?”   
sanghyuk nods, “right. but his crime coefficient was high, this is your question right?”  
“correct”

“we found a sample of the stimulants while interrogating some of his clients. turns out it wasn’t fully developed. the drug relieves the clouding of one’s hue for only a short period of time, but then aggravates the host with it’s side effects. which is why ahn jungin’s crime coefficient went up higher than it already was”

“so he gave his half-assed work around? what are these people.. his lab rats?”

“apparently so..” despite the lousy work, taekwoon was actually more worried than content about knowing that civilians have the ability to create their own stimulants (that either don’t work or potentially will).

“well done, inspector” taekwoon gives sanghyuk a pat on his shoulder before excusing himself. 

 

 

 

 

taekwoon looks at the tall silver haired enforcer who gives him a crooked smile then at the brunet, who was sporting his usual ruffled hair as he gives taekwoon a two fingered salute. the new enforcer (whom taekwoon had mentally finalized and approved his assignment to their team) looks up at him, eyes sharp and almost daunting if taekwoon had any capacity at all to be afraid of anyone right now. wonshik and jaehwan took this as time to allow the two be acquainted so they walk away, giving taekwoon quick bows before returning to sanghyuk’s side.

‘how do you feel?’ taekwoon wanted to ask because he was trembling, fists clenched by his sides. 

the man beats him to it and opens his mouth first.

“inspector jung, it’s nice to finally meet you” hakyeon gives him a salute, his voice almost robotic. taekwoon looks at the other stonily, but there was no hostility to the look in his eyes. “you don’t have to be so formal.” hakyeon’s mouth nearly hangs open at the inspector’s words. his voice was soft (and so much higher than wonshik’s), the complete opposite of his very fierce eyes and broad build.

“as long as we have mutual respect as colleagues” taekwoon reaches his hand out into the space between them. “i look forward to working with you” hakyeon lets out a breath he didn’t even realize he was holding the minute taekwoon opened his mouth and takes the other’s hand. he feels taekwoon’s hard callouses brush against his own fingers to give it a firm squeeze.

hakyeon didn't want to be treated like a hunting dog, like something inhumane, a human machine. while taekwoon's eyes were empty, hakyeon had the feeling they were looking at him as if he was, in fact, normal and not casted away just for being a latent criminal.

' _your psycho pass will cloud even more if you keep thinking that way, idiot_ ’ he scolds himself for being silly.

it also doesn’t take more than another pair of eyes to have hakyeon realize that his superior was indeed an attractive man. one that exudes the aura of an enigma, it intrigues hakyeon and just screams questions he’d want to know the answers of. his close friends always did say he was a little nosy.

but hakyeon liked a mystery, a little challenge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fun fact: i started working on this fic last year but then just kinda gave up on it..  
> i've been feeling that spark with it lately so thats why i decided to continue!!
> 
> thank you for reading! <3


	2. take flight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i just really wanted to get a second chapter in before this week ends.. (Ｔ▽Ｔ)

 

  
the first thing hakyeon made sure to stray from was sleeping in for another few minutes the moment he wakes up. but after that long night and when the alarm goes off piercingly this morning, he couldn’t help but roll over away from his bedside table.

_‘you’re an enforcer now’_

_‘hakyeon wake up’_

  
with outright disdain, he manages to lift himself up to shut the alarm before it gets any more annoying to listen to than it is. he makes sure to take a quick shower by the least, stop by the mirror behind the sink and trace the dark lines below his eyes with a finger. he’d always been a night owl, coming back from shows past midnight. that was, when he was still- well, working. during rehabilitation he’d spend those late nights wide awake for around two hours and the doctors would comment on his lethargy the next day during examinations, tell him how important sleep was as if he didn't already _fucking know_.

why he was always up? he couldn’t answer.

he managed to fish out the only suit he’s ever owned, finding it still hung in the far end of his closet back home before stuffing it into a box with the rest of his things when he moved to the enforcer’s quarters. the suit was navy, a style that wasn’t all too formal. he switches out the formal button up below the suit jacket with a white t-shirt and discards the tie it came with. (because apparently the CID isn’t strict with work attire, evident from the way wonshik’s shirt was missing three- no four buttons on top that the tattoo across his chest was visible)

hakyeon scrambles from where he’s stood in front of the mirror staring at his reflection when his communication bracelet starts beeping.

“ugh- shit” he mutters, snatching it from the bedside table. he’d almost forgotten about it.

the holo display above the band flashes on when he slips it over his wrist.

‘enforcer lee jaehwan calling…’ hakyeon read, jaehwan’s photo of his unusually stoic expression beside it.

“hello?” he hears jaehwan’s voice, along with some rustling in the background.

the voice that comes next is a lot deeper, “who’s that?” and hakyeon instantly knows who it is beside him.

“hakyeon” jaehwan replies wonshik, shushing him at the time.   
“isn’t he a hyung?”  
“oh yeah- wait, shut up-“

“jaehwan?” hakyeon finally speaks and then there’s that rustling again followed by something that sounded like a hard thud.

“ow!” wonshik yelps similarly to a puppy.

“sorry hyung” he could almost see the shit eating grin on jaehwan’s face as he spoke. “did i call at the wrong time?”

hakyeon looks at his unmade bed then at the second box of his things still half open, a frown creasing between his brows, “no, it’s fine”  
“oh” the fellow enforcer answers and hakyeon knows a response like that like the back of his hand. he didn’t mean to sound that unconvincing. even if his tone did bother jaehwan, he doesn’t push on.

“i was wondering if you’d like to join me and wonshik-“ (maybe sanghyuk as well if he wasn’t so busy trying to woo hongbin on the floor above them) “for some morning coffee at the break room? we hang out here a lot”

hakyeon could function for the rest of the day after some good coffee.

“sounds good”

 

 

 

  
hakyeon could see why anyone would want to stay in the break room past their shifts. it looked like a lounge, a large coffee table and leather sofas (there’s even a kitchen? and a bar?).

enforcers were latent criminals thus, weren’t allowed to leave the building without triggering the cymatic scanners by the entrance doors. it only made sense that the MWPSB made sure to prepare the right necessities so they actually stayed in the building. even their personal quarters (like the one hakyeon is now living in) were well decorated, though simple. their beds were better than the one hakyeon had back at home, it’s springs digging into his hip every time he laid down.

“nice place right?” jaehwan hands him a mug with the promised coffee. hakyeon is too sure that the coffee beans were of high quality to even hesitate taking a sip from the mug the moment it’s snug between his hands. wonshik is here, of course. god, were the two joint to the hip or something?

“do you guys just stay here whenever it’s not your shift?” the brunet enforcer nods, crossing his legs on the sofa. “it depends though. sometimes we just go back to the office so taekwoon hyung can get through briefing quickly”

by the time hakyeon is done taking another hearty sip from his mug to look up at the two, wonshik is playing with jaehwan’s earlobe, flicking it between his fingers. the look he gives the brunet drips of fondness. jaehwan turns to pout at wonshik, who then giggles and moves his fingers to pinch the flesh of the other’s neck. hakyeon learns that jaehwan is ticklish from the way he squirms after that.

“you two are close” hakyeon raises a brow.

“we are“

“we’re friends” they both say at the same time and it’s even more hilarious because they look in disbelief as much as hakyeon did.

“okay- no” jaehwan deadpans, “we’re together”

“it’s only obvious because wonshik doesn’t know how to fucking tone it down—”

wonshik’s voice cracks, “hey!”

“only division one knows about this”

which instantly includes taekwoon and sanghyuk, as well as himself.

“but enough about us”

“you’re taking the first shift today, hyung. that is, if there’s anything's going on today-“

as if on cue, hakyeon’s band is beeping. the holo flicks open and he sees the familiar inspector’s picture, face cat-like and brooding.

“good luck hyung” wonshik gives him a smile (the same time jaehwan is prying his hand off his thigh).

 

 

 

 

“you probably didn’t hear the announcement but there’s been an alert from one of the scanners in a shopping complex, detected rising of the area stress level. do you know what that means?” taekwoon decides to take a jab at the new enforcer. he wouldn’t be mad at him if he didn’t exactly know how to answer. he made a rough assumption that if hakyeon showed such a high aptitude in crime investigating, surely the question wouldn’t end up going over his head.

hakyeon hums a little in thought before a few gears click in place, “that there’s a potential threat amongst the crowd willing to commit a crime?”

“correct” taekwoon nods, the answer more than satisfactory.

“an enforcement is done by- well, an enforcer. an inspector’s task during a case is to always be by the enforcer’s side as the job is being carried out—“  
“in other words, i’m the bloodhound.. right?”

taekwoon looked almost baffled- perhaps? it’s not like there was much of a change in his expression to give any indication so.

“that’s.. one way to put it” taekwoon starts drumming his fingers on the steering wheel, “there’s a common misconception amongst both inspectors and enforcers where say, you, are meant to be treated like beasts hunting for their prey.”

“but there is no bloodshed is there? if an enforcer is… bloodthirsty, has tendencies of a murderer, you’d be a step away from painting your own psycho pass completely black.”

“so if you ever think a certain way, one that you know is dangerous, always put a distinction between you doing your job in the name of law and just committing crimes for the mere fun of it. understand?” this time taekwoon looks at hakyeon as he speaks, seeing the inspector turn his head and wait for response.

hakyeon looks back at him, a small smile, and taekwoon’s eyes almost widen in surprise. it was the first time the enforcer had ever smiled at him, the memory of hakyeon’s face a blank slate the first time they’d met imprinted in the back of his mind. “i understand. thank you” hakyeon turns away first then taekwoon does, eyes back on the road.

  
the car ride was silent for moment. before taekwoon decides to open his mouth again. honestly, he was never this talkative. every time he feels the need to talk to anyone about anything else than what he thinks is important there would be a voice in his head telling him to forget about it. when he and sanghyuk began talking more, he'd learnt that the boy was close to have been traumatized for the rest of his life. (“hyung, you just kept glaring at me! i thought i would have to transfer to the department of finance because you were so scary”)

but taekwoon really had remarkably softened even more after the addition of jaehwan and wonshik to the team. he thinks its because the two always tried to force him into a conversation that they ended up as close as they did now. he didn’t really get along with his subordinates during his time in division two before he was finally transferred to division one as unit chief.

taekwoon clears his throat, “also” hakyeon straightens himself.

“i had to go through your files and.. you were a dancer?”

oh. _oh_.

hakyeon had forgotten that under his personal data for the job application he’d have to include former professions. one of his being his stage persona, as a dancer, where he called himself ’N’.

“y-yeah.. i was. sibyl approved and all..”

“surely you miss it. the stage?” now taekwoon was _really_ going too far. he wished he could beat himself up for prying at the other’s life too much.

expecting an answer similar enough to ‘mind your own business’, instead hakyeon miraculously carries on with the conversation.

“i do. it’s actually a bit funny how i didn’t realize how much i _do_ miss it till you mentioned it”

“i’d been to one of your shows before” taekwoon admits and hakyeon’s head whips too fast to look at him, his neck felt a little strained afterwards. “you did?” he tries to contain the anticipation bubbling in him. how was hakyeon in his eyes? or more so, how was ’N’ to him?

“i did” taekwoon’s lips curve up a little. “a friend dragged me along to your show once. he kept praising you, saying ’N’ is this, ’N’ is that”

“i never knew how you looked like though”

hakyeon sinks into his seat. 

_no one_ actually knew how ’N’ looked like. they call it his appeal, one of the main reasons why ’N’ was so well known by the community was because of how he always danced with a blindfold on. hakyeon had conjured a variety of dance routines, stronger twirls and more grace every time, but nothing could replace the same black piece of cloth he had tied over his eyes.

he just wanted to hide behind a mask, soothe his performance anxiety as he moves his body even while he stood on a stage with spotlights bathing him from every corner.

“what did you think?” hakyeon asks mindlessly, curiosity besting him. he sees taekwoon look towards him in his peripherals as if to ask what he meant. “about my performance” he clarifies.

hakyeon wanted to wipe his palms from how clammy they were. the silence between them after his question making his throat dry.

“i don’t know anything about dancing but- i liked it. i understood why everyone said you were so breathtaking”

“t-thank you” hakyeon smiles for the second time today, more sincere.

“but i’ve also come to terms that because no one knows how i look like, ’N’ would be.. forgotten? the sibyl system did wipe ’N’ out from their list. it’s as if he never existed to begin with”

“you give yourself way too little credit, hakyeon” the way taekwoon addresses him by his name was unfamiliar, he didn’t dislike it.

“your stage presence is amazing. surely, everyone who’s ever been to your show has you ingrained in their heads.” the ‘like me’ that is supposed to come after goes unsaid, “if anything, they’ll miss you.”

_three times_. hakyeon counts.

“thank you. really, inspector. thank you”

they see the familiar outline of the shopping complex as the car approaches, taekwoon eyeing the CID van tailing behind closely through the rear mirror.

“you should perform one time during any of our gatherings.”

hakyeon considers it.

“maybe”

 

 

  
the complex was just as they’d expected- packed to the brim, too many people. it was a normal occurrence for the area stress level to leap past what is acceptable, even when the citizens knew better than to do anything to ruin their psycho passes. they’re surveying every face, from children to couples walking hand in hand.

nothing that stands out until hakyeon sees someone there and it triggers something in him.

“wait- there” hakyeon spots a man in the corner of the complex hall, hiding behind a pillar to glance over at the pair as if they hadn’t noticed him. without a doubt, he was up to no good.

“i thought so too” taekwoon mumbles. “let’s approach him, but not directly so he doesn’t run off”

the inspector and enforcer waddle in their holo suits towards the man, (hakyeon nearly tripping over his feet because the suit was actually tiring) giving waves to other civilians as their large heads bob along. the man doesn’t move in his place, distracted by something on his phone and searching for something frantically until the two are beside him.

“excuse me, may we-“

the man tries to run.

hakyeon’s quick reflexes causes him to grab the man’s arm and twist it against his back the minute their proximity widens. the act was fast, taekwoon even hears a crack of joints. just how strong is he? the man tries to struggle in hakyeon’s physical restraints which only makes the enforcer tighten his grip, so he stops.

a new crime index flickers over taekwoon’s bracelet. he skims through his data without much thought, the guy had a good job, no criminal records, yet. taekwoon inwardly sighs at rise of his psycho pass reading from weeks back.

“87.6.. 90.2..” his finger stops scrolling through when the last digit starts blinking red.

“112.4, today”

hakyeon’s lips form an ‘o’, “that means..”

“he needs to be put into the rehabilitation center” hakyeon feels the man trembling and chews on his bottom lip.

when your fate is pre-determined by the sibyl system, one would be a fool for going against it. hakyeon didn’t favor the system, yet chose the path that lead him here, to the MWPSB. if anything, his morals kept his feet up during the job, hell, it was still only his first enforcement. and even if the man's recovery while being in the center was a moot point, (as it really just depended more on the person) ’the system says so’, hakyeon recalls his former therapist’s words.

 

 

 

  
“even though he didn’t put up that much of a fight, you’re really strong”

“really?”

“you’ve never sparred?”

“not really..” which pretty much meant ‘no’.

“i just danced a lot, remember?”

taekwoon shrugs, “true”

taekwoon and hakyeon are escorting the man into the police van and they eye him sat gingerly, fiddling with his own fingers. the doors of the van makes a loud hissing noise as it slowly closes, and the last thing hakyeon sees before it shuts completely is the man’s gaze flickering to meet his, frightened.

it’s what’s best. hakyeon wants to tell him.

 

 

 

 

when hakyeon walks into division one’s office, he sees jaehwan seated at his desk, moving his pencil about on what looks like to be a sketchbook. wonshik was talking to him animatedly about something while leaning against the edge of jaehwan’s desk, noticing hakyeon walk in first.

  
“welcome back!”

“we heard that you managed to identify the cause of the jump pretty quickly”

hakyeon honestly wants to question _how_ they know. but decides to swallow the words back up.  
“he just looked really suspicious. but i think i should have took the time to actually understand his behavior. my assumption could have been wrong”

wonshik moves back to properly sit on jaehwan’s desk, “that’s true. but..”

“d’you know what they call these things?”

“they say its a hunting dog’s instinct. enforcers are latent criminals after all, so in short, we have the same latency to commit crimes like the potential ones.”

“which is why we can sense when someone’s acting fishy, sniff out the culprit and _bam_ ” wonshik snaps his fingers for an extra given effect. “we point the dominator and let it do the rest”

hakyeon notices wonshik falter a bit before he sucks in a breath.

“but if you stray away from your actual purpose as an enforcer then the dominator is what points itself at you.” there was something bitter in his words that makes jaehwan’s hand pause from where he was scratching a few lines onto his sketchbook, reaching out to entwine his fingers with wonshik’s. they look at each other for awhile and hakyeon knows it’s something he thinks is not worth the risk to find out about now.

jaehwan only looks away when wonshik finally eases himself.

“so hyung,” he releases their hands, “how was working with taekwoon hyung?”

“oh” hakyeon pauses to think. easy?

“i learned a lot. he asked me a lot of questions so we eventually spoke more”

“wait. you’re telling us that taekwoon hyung actually initiated a conversation that isn’t related to a case?”

“uh- yes?”

jaehwan gasps loudly, _really_ loudly, “hyung, do you know how hard it was when we first started working here? he only ever ordered us around, talked about the case and sounded everything like the big shot everyone calls him.”

“hyukkie even made us relay conversations between them. he was so scared, he looked like was gonna shit his pants and hand in a transfer letter the next day”

“and plus that one time i asked him if i could use the coffee machine, he stared at me as if he wished he had a dominator to shoot me with. i thought he marked the machine or something, peed on it a little.”

hakyeon laughs, cupping his mouth, “was he really that bad?”

  
the enforcer pair nodded in unison, “yeah, and the best part was that he had no idea how terrifying he was”

he would’ve never pegged taekwoon to be the type, to be a little dense. he was also an inspector that seemed devoted enough to his job to care less about what people thought of him.

“one day he actually did realize how tense it got whenever we had a case brief. so he felt bad and treated us to dinner. from then on, we all finally got along”

“because you guys found out he wasn’t a scrooge?”

their laughter that follows is boisterous with wonshik nearly pushing jaehwan’s keyboard off his desk from shifting around in his position too much.

“that too”

 

 

 

  
‘ _the potential threat was identified by hound 3 and a successful enforcement was performed. there were no casualties involved during the execution of the investigation nor worrying disputes between shepherd 1 and hound 3._ ’

taekwoon was immersed in finishing off his report to even realize the door of the break room opening, typing away on his tablet.

“inspector?”

“oh- hakyeon” he looks up to see hakyeon looking at him like he’s never seen him before. he had his police coat off, white shirt untucked and crumpled, sleeves rolled up to his elbows. he probably looked unusually unkempt, for taekwoon usually made sure to appear as tidy as he could.

“i wanted to grab a bottle of water real quick. what are you up to?”

after their conversations earlier, hakyeon sounded a lot more natural when striking up a conversation with him. still cautious, keeping the right boundaries between himself and his superior. taekwoon respected it.

“writing a report to tell chief about your developments.” he hears the sound of the fridge door opening and closing before hakyeon emerges again, coming to take a seat on the sofa adjacent from him. he watches tan fingers uncap the bottle, then quickly looking back down at the screen of his tablet.

“are jaehwan and wonshik treating you well?” taekwoon deletes the few sentences he’s written, scrunching his nose. ‘these don't sound right’

“they’re nice”

right. because those two being anything close to assholes in a literal sense would barely make any sense.

“how about me?”

“huh?”

“have i been a good superior?”

hakyeon looked reluctant to respond. and taekwoon really didn’t expect that reaction. maybe he did say something wrong after all? was it when he asked about his previous job? the outcomes of his conversations with people were never great anyway.

“you have. i honestly expected you to be more harsh”

ah, so that’s what it was.

taekwoon stops typing and chuckles. he goddamn _chuckles_ , and it looked like his eyes were twinkling.

“you’re not the first to say that”

“but if i ever offend you, know that you have the right to tell me about it.”

“okay”

yes, hakyeon hated the system. but truly, if it was one thing it could do for him was to show him a path towards something he could potentially find solace in.

there was something about taekwoon that tells him he could be dependant on him, even just a little bit. one day they would be close enough to confide in each other, but truthfully, hakyeon really just wanted to know more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- shepherd and hound are the designated codenames of inspectors and enforcers of division one respectively.   
> e.g.: taekwoon is shepherd 1 and hakyeon is hound 3  
> \- these are the really cute [holo suits](https://timelessobserver.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/psycho-pass-2-24.jpg) taekwoon and hakyeon were wearing  
> \- i know there hasn't been much mentioned about hyukbin but we'll get to that in the next chapter, i promise!!


End file.
